Eye On The Prize

rush!

A Group Tries To Help Water Skiing Make A Comeback With An Event In Orlando.

April 1, 2005|By Brett Zarda, Special to the Sentinel

Wakeboarding has been blamed for wiping out water skiing, seemingly leaving the sport on the brink of extinction.

To Scot Ellis of Auburndale, it just has been in hibernation.

"People think of water skiing with combo skis and Cypress Gardens,'' said Ellis, a 15-year pro veteran. "There's a whole other level out there. We're getting back to the public eye. From the last time they saw us, we're jumping 50 feet farther, guys are doing 10 times more flips, slalom skiers are getting better and lines are getting shorter."

Said world jumping champion Freddy Krueger of Winter Garden: "This isn't your daddy's skiing anymore. This is a whole lot more extreme. There's a whole lot more going on."

The public can decide for itself whether Ellis and Krueger are right when the Orlando Boat Show Classic is held this weekend on Lake Barnett near the Central Florida Fairgrounds. Preliminary rounds in men's and women's slalom, men's jumping and women's tricks are set from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. today. The semifinals are from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, with the finals from noon-4 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is included with the boat show. It's $5 for adults and teenagers, and $3 for children 6-12. Children 5 and under are free. Among those expected to compete are Karen Truelove, Jeff Rodgers and Mandy Nightingale.

World WaterSki Pros LLC, which organized this pro tournament and is based in Windermere, was formed last year to renew interest in the sport. It has scheduled a seven-event pro series -- with more stops possible -- this year.

That's a big change from recent years. In 1995, Krueger competed in an eight-stop nationwide tour. By 2001, that series had dissolved.

Over the years, he also has seen coverage move from ESPN to ESPN2 to Fox Sports Net and now to the Outdoor Life Network.

"The pro tour, as we used to know it, kind of dwindled away, and what we were left with was a bunch of individual events," Krueger said. "Our eventual goal, or our immediate goal, is to bring back the tour-style atmosphere."

Said World WaterSki Pros founder Andy Mapple, who is retired but was a 12-time season champion in pro slalom: "We really don't have any continuity. We need to bring it to the people under one umbrella. Then you have something to sell."

When tour stops disappeared, so did endorsements. Krueger saw income flip from an 80-20 endorsement-to-prize-money split to 40-60.

"When you have fewer tournaments, you have less opportunity to endorse someone's product," Krueger said.

Said Mapple: "All of a sudden, wakeboarding was there. It was the hot new thing. To a lot of promoters, it was the quick way to make a buck."

The evolving organization saw a return of pro skiing to Orlando, after a four-year hiatus, as an important step.

As for that "other'' water sport, perhaps the infant can learn a thing or two from its elder.

"We're doing similar tricks but trick skiing is more exciting," European overall champion Scott Seels said. "Wakeboarders may go higher, but they might only do four or five tricks in one pass. We're doing like six flips in one pass and like 14-15 tricks in a span of 20 seconds."